This forum is for feedback related to the content or operation of the TalkOrigins Archive (TOA).

In November, 2006, the TOA came under attack by a professional cracker located in the Ukraine. For a week, the TOA's content was not available through the Google search engine, due to spam links inserted into the TOA home page by the cracker. A series of actions ensued that restored the Google index, but caused escalation of activity by the cracker. It required the removal of all interactive scripts from the TOA site to deny access to the cracker, so that is what we did.

The feedback system was one of those systems that had to be removed, and we think it likely that the feedback script was the point of entry for the cracker. That script was originally written around 1996, in an earlier and simpler time for Internet interaction. In reviewing it, it seems simpler to start from scratch to make a secure system. This is a project that I am working on, but it is of lower priority than many other projects. So, in the interim, I have set up this forum to permit feedback concerning the TOA.

How it works

This forum allows even unregistered guests to start topics here. New topics are not immediately visible to the public, though. They are put in a moderation queue for review by the TOA feedback response group. Please do not re-enter topics; they will be reviewed as TOA responders find time to do so.

If a responder finds a topic interesting, it will be approved for public viewing. Only administrators and the TOA feedback response group have privileges for responding to topics in this forum. This is the closest approach I've found so far to the behavior of our old feedback system on the TOA.

Moderators

To view, respond to, approve, or delete moderated topic entries, look for the "Moderators Control Panel" link at the bottom of the page. Enter the number of days into the past you wish to look and the number of results to be displayed per page, and you will see the submitted feedback topics.